1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the production of ginseng wine, in particular second run ginseng wine.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Ginseng is a human-shaped root that is one of the most popular healing herbs of the East and West used to combat weakness and give extra energy. Ginseng, prized for millennia, has an ancient history and now it is an extremely popular herb with a wide range of therapeutic uses.
The genus name Panax is derived from the Latin word “panacea” meaning “cure-all” (Named by German scientist C. A. Meyer in 1842).
Since the 1940s, ginseng has been one of the most highly researched herbs in the world. There are more than three thousand scientific studies performed on ginseng. Results of many high level health studies throughout the world demonstrate that ginseng possesses a large variety of therapeutic effects on the body including benefits to the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, stress (mental and emotional), fatigue, aging, and so on.
In recent years, ginseng has been promoted in the West as a tonic and a rejuvenator. Thus, there is strong evidence that ginseng has many positive effects on the body and the mind.
Ginseng species includes Panax ginseng (Korean ginseng), Panax quinquefolius (North American ginseng), Panax japonicum (Japanese ginseng), Panax notoginseng (san-qi ginseng), and Panax pseudoginseng (Himalayan ginseng).
Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) is actually not a true ginseng species, but the properties and uses of all of these are similar and are generally referred to as ginseng.
Results of one study showed that the administration of Panax ginseng extract at doses of 3 g/65 Kg body weight 40 minutes after the last drink enhanced the rate of blood alcohol clearance in healthy male volunteers.
Some of the main chemical components of ginseng include at least 13 different saponins, collectively known as ginsenosides; starch; glycosides; sterols; volatile oil; polysaccharides; minerals; various flavonoids; vitamin-Bs (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, and cobalamin); biotin; choline; pectin; phytoestrogens; and simple sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, and trisaccharides). It should be noted that the components may vary depending on the species and the age of the plant.
Possible therapeutic benefits of Ginseng include:
1) Stimulant: Ginseng improves mental performance, especially in older people. Ginseng contains choline, a chemical in the brain that is essential for learning and memory retention.
2) Antioxidant: Ginseng contains antioxidants, substances that prevent cellular damage due to oxidation, exposure to unstable molecules called free radicals.
3) Antiaging: Ginseng exhibited antisenility effects and led to the relief of age-related symptoms in a group of middle aged and elderly subjects.
4) Anticancer: Results of many studies found that unpurified saponins, compounds found in ginseng, inhibited the growth of cancer cells and actually converted diseased cells into normal cells. Ginseng also helps the body to cope with the side effects of chemotherapy.
5) Adaptogenic: Ginseng's remarkable ‘adaptogenic’ quality (helping the body to adapt to stress, fatigue, and cold) has been confirmed.
6) Menopause: Ginseng contains compounds that are similar in action to estrogen, the female sex hormone.
7) Antidiabetic: Ginseng helps the body maintain normal blood sugar and cholesterol level, and stimulates a range of immune system and endocrine responses.
The present invention should be distinguished from “wine-like ginseng liquor,” which is a type of liquor. Liquor is not wine. Strictly speaking, liquor is made by distilling fermented products to obtain a spirit. “Liquor” is “unfermented or incompletely fermented, sugar-bearing liquid from which wine is made. It is also the liquid portion of a must.” And “must” is the combination of basic ingredients, both solid and liquid, from which wine is made. Therefore, liquor is not wine at all.
In addition, what has commonly been seen in relation to ginseng on the market is in the form of tea, and ginseng roots soaked in a jar of liquor or spirits made of rice, grain, or fruit. However, this is not the process of wine-making from ginseng as in the subject matter of the present invention. Commonly on the market, rice or other grain wine is flavored with ginseng by adding some portion of ginseng (less than 5% of total base ingredient). Such are sometimes commercially called “ginseng wine”. They abound in the marketplace. Also sold are wines or spirits in which ginseng is soaked for a certain period of time. Others include wines or spirits in which ginseng is soaked with other herbs for a certain period. Fruit wines in which ginseng extract is added are also sometimes called ginseng wine. In other words, currently in the marketplace alcohol or wine that contains an extract of ginseng is generally called “ginseng wine”, and this must be distinguished from the process of preparing the ginseng wine described in the present application, which is made straight from ginseng.
In the art of wine making, there are first run wine and second run wine. The first run wine is made by fermentatively processing the original raw material. However, second run wine is made if there is enough desirable characteristics to be still extracted from the leftover processed residues after the first run. There is a need in the art to make beverages such as wine that imparts nutritional and health benefits of ginseng.